Would You Still Be Here?
by Endeavor16
Summary: What if Nya was never captured by the Skulkin? Would her and Kai still become ninja? What of the other ninja? This is my take of Wrong Place Wrong Time.
1. Chapter 1-Ashes and Tears

Chapter 1- Ashes and Tears

I fell to the ground, tears filling my eyes. _Why would they do this?_ I thought. _They destroyed everything_! I felt my brothers strong arm beside me. But when I looked at him, he had fainted. I checked his pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, he was still alive. Once I had regained some strength in my limbs, I lifted my head to look at the damage. I wept again as I realized that it was as bad as I had thought.

"The Skulkin..." I muttered, the levels of venom in my own voice scaring me. "They did this to us."

Our parents shop was destroyed completely, burned to the ground by the horrible, no, evil Skulkin. It was just a huge pile of half-burned logs and ashes now. The sky had dimmed with the hazardous smoke filling the air. It was getting harder to breathe by the second. I could feel my own lungs straining to get any oxygen from the air. Weapons were shattered and scattered around where the shop used to be; they were just piles of metal now. Tufts of grass blew in the breeze, not giving any thought as to why we were in pain.

I curled up into a tight ball, not even caring how uncomfortably warm it was out here. Kai was already sound asleep next to me. I tried to calm down, but had to resort to listen to Kai's heavy breathing to lull me to sleep.

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I heard a crunch. My hazel eyes flickered open, but I didn't move. I lifted my head slightly. It was an old man. He was hunched over a walking stick and sifting through the ashes. Was he looking for something? I glanced at Kai's body. He was still passed out.

"W-What do you want sir?" I asked weakly. The man didn't even flinch at my voice. _Did he even hear me?_ "Why are you here?" The old man continued on his work, possibly ignoring me. I sighed.

"Hello Nya," the man stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I gasped in surprise and anger. _How did he know my name?_

"How do you know my name? What do you want?" I asked, suspicious of his actions.

"I knew your parents. Ray and Maya, correct?" I nodded. I could feel my hand shaking. My body knew that I was too weak to stand, let alone fight this trespasser. My chest was still pressed against the warm ground, but the cool night air had washed away most of the smoke. Every breeze felt like a cleansing ritual for my lungs.

"Yes sir. But I ask again, what are you looking for?" The man still had his back turned to me, but I didn't care that he gave no attention to the state my brother and I were in. I heard a clang of a broken sword hitting an underground stone.

"I am here for a map. I gave it to your father a long, long time ago." The man finally turned and looked at me. I could see the glimmer of humor in his faded brown eyes. "I knew your family before you were even a glimmer in your mother's eye."

"What does the map do? Where does it lead?" I asked, ignoring his recollections. My hand clenched the torn grass near my waist. I wanted to stand so bad, but I couldn't.

"I didn't just come for the map. I came for you and your brother as well." I narrowed my hazel eyes. "I can see the fire within you. I will train you in the ways of the ninja, and you will protect Ninjago from the darkness."

I felt Kai tense next to me. _He's awake_. His hand hit the ground in front of him. He started to rise from the ground. I was in awe, how was he able to stand after being beaten down that bad? He clutched his broken arm with his left hand.

"You," his voice was soft, but harsh. "You except us to go with you? The Skulkin just destroyed everything we own. My sister and I need time to recover. You cannot intrude in our lives at just the wrong time and expect us to leave!" His voice was rising with every word. "HOW DARE YOU BURST INTO OUR LIVES AND EXPECT US TO FOLLOW YOUR COMMAND!" Kai leapt from his stance next to me and threw a punch at the old man. "I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Kai screamed in frustration.

The man opened and closed his eyes slowly. Kai threw a kick at him. I watched as the white-bearded man dodged every attack swiftly, not even moving from his spot. As my brother grew more angry, his attacks grew less coordinated. _W-Was that a flicker of red? Was the air growing warmer? I glanced at Kai's feet. Were they on fire? Literally?_ My eyes widened in terror.

"Kai! Stop!" I reached out to stop my brother, but the old man beat me to it. The move was too fast for my eyes to catch. In one movement, the old man's arm took Kai's leg and flipped him to the ground. The man twirled in the air and stood atop Kai's chest, one foot still planted in his original place.

My mouth dropped open in awe of the man's swift movements. My brother's brown eyes were still blazing in anger, but he couldn't move under the man's weight. His broken right arm lay uselessly out to his side.

I finally found the strength to stand. As soon as my head came up off the ground, I felt a wave of black threatening to take over my vision. I fell to my knees, when I heard a grunt, and turned to look at Kai. The man seemed to be telling him a story.

"and, for fear of his own demise, a map for an honest man to hide." The old man paused. "That honest man was your father. That is why I want you to train. Train and harness the fire inside you." _Literal fire?_ I thought.

"And what of my sister?" Kai asked. The old man swung his gaze to me. I suddenly found the ground extremely interesting.

"She will join us. She will also train to become a ninja." I shook my head.

"No no no!" I yelled. "I will not follow your story. I will rebuild my house!" Kai's gaze seemed to sear me. "Kai! Will you join me or not?" I didn't wait for his answer. Instead, I stood up and walked away. I didn't care what the old man thought of me. I didn't care what Kai would think of me later. I just wanted to leave this place.

The grass crunched under my feet, as blood dripped from a cut on my forehead. A rock caught my foot and I stumbled forward, barely catching myself from falling. I pushed a branch out of my way, and grunted because it still got caught in my hair. Suddenly, I heard a crash from behind me.

It was Kai.

"I left him!" Kai said. He reached out and held my arms with his good hand. "I won't ever leave you. You know that! Thank you for saving me from that creepy old man." I could see his huge brown eyes tearing up. I smiled with relief, because I knew I would always be safe with my brother.

"I knew you would come after me eventually." Kai squeezed my arms reassuringly and let go. I gave him a hug. "Thanks for being the best brother ever." I whispered. He pushed me away after a few seconds.

"We need to go to Ninjago City." I nodded. "We could find some things there to rebuild our home. Will you go with me?" I smacked him on the back of his head.

"Stupid. I just told you that you were the best brother ever and then you ask if I will go with you? Of course I will." The two of us shared a good laugh before starting our journey towards Ninjago City.

I couldn't have possibly expected the levels of danger and adventure this would bring, along with some levels of romance and comedy. We would make new friends, and we would make enemies. But I knew that Kai would be there for me no matter what.

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Well, that concludes my first remake. I intended to make this much, much more detailed (like this) the first time around, but obviously, that didn't happen. I'm really proud of how this turned out. Again, thank you all for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this!

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	2. Chapter 2-A Night of Comfort?

Chapter 2-A Night of Comfort?

I carefully wrapped the oak leaf around his arm.

"Okay Kai, I'm only going to tell you once. You have a broken arm and I won't allow you to re-break it anytime soon." I looked my brother in the eye and pointed at his arm. "Don't make me regret taking care of you!"

Kai broke his gaze and looked away from me. I noticed that his eyes had lost the fire they had earlier during the fight. I placed my hand on his broken arm.

"Can you tell me what's wrong? No?" I sighed. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me." I turned away from him but he grabbed my shoulder.

"I'm worried about you Nya." I stifled any hint of surprise. Kai? Worried? That wasn't like him at all. Something had happened to him. "I couldn't protect you when the Skulkin came. I thought I could, and instead I managed to get us in even more trouble. Now our home is destroyed and we barely have any money!"

"It's okay Kai. As long as we're together, we can get through anything." I understood the cheesiness of my words, but Kai needed them just as much as I did. "Let's go find somewhere to stop for the night." Kai didn't respond.

The forest around Ignacia was an odd combination of red deciduous and green pine trees. With the setting sun came bright orange, red, and yellow rays. The clouds above made beautiful patterns in the sky.

I heard the sound of rushing water coming from my left. Instantly, I knew what it was. I had many memories of this forest. I came here to be alone and read my favorite adventure books. Some of them were written by my mother; others, by my father. They told stories of dragons, powers, and adventures. There was friendship and mystery. My favorite parts were when the young girl and boy met and fell in love. I still don't know why I enjoy those romantic parts so much. They continue to move me in the best of ways.

Kai's arm brushing against my own brought me back to the real world. It was just past sunset and the sky was a dark blue. Kai looked at me intensely with his brown eyes.

"What?" I whispered. He pointed past the nearest pine tree. There was a bright, white light. "W-What, uh, who is that?" Kai shrugged.

A young girl looking to be around my age came out of the white and tan building. She flipped a switch on the side of the building and scratched her head. The light flickered for a few seconds. The girl's light brown hair was set in a low ponytail that flipped from side to side as she walked. She went into the building for a minute or so before coming out with a box. The box was filled with small pieces of dull metal. But I was too far away to see what they were. She took one of the largest pieces out and hit the light with it. It fell from her hand and hit the ground with a _clang_.

"Ugh!" She yelled. She clutched her foot in pain. Kai raced out from the shelter of our bush to help her. "Ahh!" She screamed and punched him in the nose. Kai yelped in pain. I saw a bit of blood drip onto the ground.

"Kai you idiot! Why did you do that?" I was angry now. The girl might as well have had smoke pouring from her ears. I knew I was in the same state.

"She needed help! So I wanted to help her!" I looked at his face in the moonlight, the artificial light flickering off. The girl pumped her fist awkwardly. Was Kai _blushing?!_ I glanced at the girl again. She was very pretty, I had to admit. I almost snickered. The girl's face hardened.

"I should be asking what you're doing on my property." She gave us a dismissive wave with her right hand. "But I can look past that for now. Only because I can see your broken arm, possibly your broken nose, and your pretty bleeding face." Kai snorted at her words. The brunette turned to me.

"I can see your leg is causing you trouble as well. You two should come inside. My mother and I own a motel." She gave me a wink. "I can get you in cost free." I smiled wholeheartedly.

"That would be..." I started.

"No thank you." Kai interrupted. "We are perfectly fine."

My eyes flashed dangerously at him, an uncomfortable heat rising in my belly. What was he playing at?

"I can take care of my little sister." He continued, patting my head. I smacked him across the face, sparking his bloody nose yet again. I smiled at the girl, raising my bloodied hand.

"Thank you for your generous offer, we would love to stay here." I held out my hand for her to shake. "My name is Nya, and this is my idiotic brother Kai."

The girl laughed and took my hand. "My name is Skylor. It's nice to meet you. Come on inside!"

Skylor led Kai and I inside the front door of the hotel. I gasped. The walls were white tile and there was a small waterfall in the center of the room. An older lady with short, light brown hair stood behind a glass counter. She yawned. There was a French door to my right with a sign that read, "Breakfast Bar" and a light gray couch with fluffy brown pillows. There was a gray fan spinning slightly on the ceiling. None of the gray tiles on the floor were cracked and the whole room looked clean.

"This is a beautiful place," I complemented the woman at the counter. "Everything is so clean." The woman smiled sweetly.

"Thank you. Not many people come by here, so I have a lot of time on my own two hands." Skylor stuck out her tongue. The woman glanced at her daughter. "Excuse me Skylor, my four hands."

"Thank you". The brunette muttered while crossing her arms across her chest.

"My name is Dawn. As you can guess, I am Skylor's mother. Thank you for choosing to stay here tonight. I can give you your key." Dawn tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Do you want different rooms? I could arrange that." Dawn went under her glass desk. She came up a few seconds later with two golden keys. "This one is for room 30. And this one is for room 32." She pointed to each one in turn.

"If you need us," Skylor added. "We are in rooms 1 and 2 down the hall." Kai blinked gratefully at her. The young girl handed us our room keys. I got room 32.

The two ladies led us down the hallway to my left. The floor was light gray with swirly blue patterns. There was a lamp sitting on a brown desk every few rooms or so. We stopped in front of the two rooms. I put my key in the lock and turned it. As we stepped inside, I noticed a door connecting the two rooms.

"Thank you for taking us in." I said quietly. "You don't know how much this means to us." Kai turned away from me. He would never admit defeat in anything. _Stubborn brat_. I thought, laughing internally.

Kai jumped into the room, landing on the clean bed with a _thump_. He laid on his back and pretended to make snow angels. Skylor leapt in and joined him. Dawn turned to me.

"So, what happened to you two? If you don't mind me asking." I dropped my gaze to the carpet.

"Our home was destroyed by Skulkin. This old guy tried to take us away but we refused." Dawn nodded at my words. I blinked, surprised. I didn't think she would take me seriously. "We are on our way to Ninjago City now to get supplies to rebuild our house and shop." Dawn laid her hand on my shoulder.

"You may stay here as long as you need. My door will always be open to you, kind Nya." I smiled. I thought about Kai's fight with the old man.

"Hey, Dawn? Do you think that elemental powers are real?" Dawn's smile faded a little. She seemed surprised at my question. She leaned in close to my ear.

"I will have to tell you later. First, we build trust. Then, I give you my answer."

I nodded. I knew that this lady would be very important to me in the near future. I needed to give her my full trust in order to survive this cruel world. This wasn't Ignacia anymore.

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Yay! Second chapter is up! I'm so happy to be writing again. Thank you all for sticking with me through my silence. I hope you are all happy with my work.

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